Alexis vernaz



(No Model.)

A. VBRNAZ.

DEVICE EOE ADJUSTING SEEUGKET'WHEELS IN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

No. 565,649. Patented Aug. 11, 1896.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEe ALEXIS VERNAZ, OF STE. CROIX, SIVITZERLAND,ASSIGNOR TO MERMOD FRERES, OF SAME PLACE.

DEVICE FOR ADIUSTING SPROCKET-WHEELS IN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 565,649, dated August11, 1896.

Application filed January 6, 1896.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXIS VERNAZ, a citizen of the Republic of France,and a resident of Ste. Croix, canton of Vaud, Switzerland, have inventeda new and useful Device for Adjusting the Sprocket-Vheels in MusicalInstruments, of which the following is an exact and clear specification.

This invention refers to musical instruments of that kind in which reedsor tongues are operated from a note plate or disk by the mediation ofsprocket wheels. When on using such an instrument a tune has just begunplaying, and the hearer is perhaps not satisfied with that respectivetune, there is in said instruments no possibility of interruptin g thattune and letting therefor another one be played. The note plate or diskA having said iirst tune may be removed from the instrument, it is true,but the irregular order of the teeth of the sprocket-wheels does notallow of substituting another disk for the removed one.

The purpose of my invention, therefore, is to make an exchange of thenote-plates possible, also, if a tune has just begun playing or has notfinished playing, respectively. I attain that purpose by furnishing themusical instrument with means adapted to adjust the sprocket-wheelsafter the note plate or disk has been removed in such a manner that theteeth of said sprocket-wheels form as many parallel lines as there areteeth upon one of said wheels.

In order to make my invention more clear, I refer to the accompanyingdrawings, in which similar letters denote similar parts throughout thedifferent views, and in which- Figure 1 is aplan of my novel device.Fig. 2 is a front view of the same, and Figs. 3 and 4 are two detailviews drawn on a larger scale and showing two different positions of theadjusting device proper.

The adjusting device proper is, in the form of construction shown,formed by a plate c, Figs. 1 to at, held by guides 0, Figs. 1 and 2. Theaxle b, carrying the sprocket-wheels a, is situated behind said plate c.Said wheels are loosely arranged upon said axle, and each of them maytherefore turn independent of its neighboring ones. They are operated bySerial No. 574,543. (No model.)

a circular note-plate, (not sho\vn,) the fulcrum for which is formed bythe central pin m, Figs. 1 and 2, and which is guided above the saidsprocket-wheels by a lever c,having its fulcrum formed bythe pin p, Fig.2. Said lever is therefore moved down into its proper position onlyafter the note-plate has been put upon the pin m, and it is then securedto the latter by means of the latch r, Fig. 1. 6o This is a means knownto every one versed in the art in question, as is also the large numberof small rolls s, Fig. 2, attached to the lower rim of the said lever.The latter is further at its right hand (in close proximity to itsfulcrum) provided with two noses h Z, the purpose of which will bedescribed hereinafter.

Suppose the instrument has just commenced to play a tune, and the hearerwishes 7o to have that tune replaced by another one, the wheel-work (notshown) of the instrument is stopped, and the lever e is raised, so as toallow of the removal of the respective note plate or disk. Thesprocket-wheels are now, as a matter of course, in perfect disorder, andmust therefore be adjusted before another note-plate can be put inproper position into the instrument. Said adjustment is performed byshoving the plate c from its 8o normal position or position of rest,Fig. 3, against the sprocket-wheels, Fig. 4, so that the latter are allbrought in line, or their teeth form as many straight and parallel linesas there are teeth upon one of said wheels, rcspectively.

To prevent the person making that exchange of the note-plates fromforgetting the adjustment of the sprocket-wheels, I prefer to let saidadjustment be automatically per- 9o formed, or, in other words, toconnect the plate c with any of the parts that are compulsorily movedwhen a disk is exchanged.

In the form of construction shown I have connected the plate c with thelever e in the fol- 9 5 lowing manner.

A bar f, Figs. l and 2, arranged below the plate c, parallel to the axleh, is supported from said plate by screws g taking through angular slotsCZ of the said plate. Said slots roo do not form guides forsaid bar f,but the latter is guided by suitable recesses in the guidepieces o insuch a manner that the said bar can be displaced only in itslongitudinal direction. If, therefore, the bar fis displaced to theright, the screws g enter the oblique portions of the slots CZ andwithdraw the plate c from the sprocket-wheels a. Said plate is then inthe position shown in Fig. 3. To shove the said plate against thesprocket-wheels and adjust them, Fig. 4., the bar f is displaced in thereverse direction, when the screws g will move from the oblique portionsof the slots CZ to the straight portions thereof. Said two displacementsof the bar f are cilected by the lever e, or more precisely by the noseshl of the same. The nose 7L takes into a slot f Fig. 2, of the bar j"and acts upon the portion f2, that closes the right-hand end of saidslot. The nose Z acts also upon said portion, but from the outsidethereof. Owing to the smallness of the said portion f with regard to thedistance between said two noses, there is a pause between the action ofthe nose 7b and that of the nose Z. The note-plate to be exchanged is,and must be, removed from the instrument during that pause, as willbecome more clear from the following'.

Suppose a disk be removed and the adjusting-plate c be in its normalposition, Fig. 3, the lever c is at first raised so little only that thenose Z strikes upon the portion f2 of the bar f. The position of saidlever is then such a one that said disk may easily be removed from thesprocket-wheels and from the central pin fm. Thereafter only said wheelsare adjusted by raising' the lever e completely, so as to cause thebarfto be displaced by said lever, and to displace in its turn and shoveagainst the sprocket-wheels the adjustingplate c. The fresh disk is thenplaced into the instrument, and the lever cis completely moved down uponsaid disk and secured in position by the latch o. The screws g have thenmoved from the straight portions of the slots d into the obliqueportions thereof.

I wish it to be understood that the adjusting device proper, c, need notindispensably be formed by a plate and need not be moved in a horizontalplane, but I may as well make use of a sufficiently strong wire, and Imay cause either said plate or said wire to move throughout iis wholelength in a curve lying', as a matter of course, in a vertical plane, orin parallel vertical planes, respectively. The idea of invention may beturned into practice in a variety of forms of construction, all bearingon the principle that a rigid part extending along the whole series ofsprocket-wheels is arranged so as to be adapted to be moved against saidwheels.

For the sake of completeness, I wish finally to remark that I prefer towithdraw the adjusting-plate c in two stages from the sprocketwheels.The first stage is effected by the lever c on moving the latter downupon the note-plate. The second stage is effected from hand by means ofa lever 7a, Fig. l, that is fulcrumed at 7s and acts upon a pin i,secured to the bar f. During the first stage the screws g move from theleft-hand ends of the slots d to the middle thereof. During the secondphase they pass into and through the oblique portions of said slots andeffect only now the withdrawal proper of the plate c.

Having thus fully described the nature of this invention, what I desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States isl. In a musicalinstrumenthaving tongues, sprocket-wheels for operating the latter, andnote plates for operating said sprocketwheels, the combination with thelatter, of means adapted to adjust them so as to bring their teeth inline, for the purpose as described.

2. In a musical instrument having tongues, sprocket-wheels for operatingthe latter, and note -plates for operating said sprocketwheels, thecombination with the latter, of a rigid part extending along the seriesof the said sprocket wheels, and adapted to be pushed against, andwithdrawn from, said series, for the purpose as described.

3. In a musical instrument having tongues, sprocket-wheels for operatingthe latter, and note plates for operating said sprocketwheels, thecombination with the latter, of a horizontal plate extending along theseries of the said sprocket-wheels, and adapted to be pushed against,and withdrawn from, said series, for the purpose as described.

et. In a musical instrument having tongues, sprocket-wheels foroperating the latter, and note plates for operating said sprocketwheels,the combination with the latter, of a rigid part extending along theseries of the said sprocket wheels, and adapted to be pushed against,and withdrawn from, said series; means for automatically operating saidrigid part on exchanging said note-plates, for the purpose as described.

5. In a musical instrument having tongues, sprocket-wheels for operatingthe latter, and note plates for operating said sprocketwheels, thecombination with the latter, of a horizontal plate extending along theseries of the said sprocket-wheels; a bar arranged parallel to the saidseries, and having projections t-aking into oblique slots of said plate;said bar having at its outer end a cross-piece adapted to be operatedwith dead-play from either of two noses provided at the bar for holdingthe note-plates in proper gear with said sprocket-wheels, substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specii'ication in the presenceof two subscribing witnesses.

ALEXIS VERJAZ. lVitncsses:

BENJAMIN H. RIDGELY,

F. BARRY.

TOO

